Latest / Weird Tales Presents: Web of the Spider! / Spider-Bite by Robert S. Carr

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Spider-Bite by Robert S. Carr · Weird Tales Presents: Web of the Spider!

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Section six of Weird Tales presents Web of the Spider. This is a LibriVox
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recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or
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to volunteer, please visit libribox dot org. Read by Ben Tucker. Spider
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Bite by Robert S. Carr. By the tomb of nurt Hall, in
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the chamber of the pool lies Zah the scribe. By the sting of the
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box and the juice of the jar, he shall arise after descending, keep
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her as he to the jewels of amah Kah. Professor Ashbrook frowned as Philip
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finished translating. It does sound a little odd, he admitted, but it's
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hardly worth getting so excited over it. Do you think still those old Egyptians
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generally had something to say when they wrote on the stone tablets. Perhaps the
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tomb of nurt Hall never was thoroughly examined, suggested phil Let's investigate this chamber
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of the pool business. That inscription sounds as those the earlier excavators might have
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overlooked something valuable. Ashbrook smiled. You do like to organize while goose chases,
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don't you that riddle you just ran across? Probably doesn't mean anything at
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all, but there's the chance of discovering a new tomb, and at mentioned
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the jewels of Amah Khah. Phil's face was pleading and boyish. The professor
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laughed shortly. Egyptology is no hobby for a modern young romanticist. You get
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excited too easily. He turned and stared out of the window across the rock
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strewn little valley that lay baking in the Egyptian sun. I think we're passing
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up a mighty interesting clue, persisted Phil Ashbrook suddenly relented. All right,
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he said, we'll go, but the chances are ninety nine out of a
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hundred that we shan't find a thing. Two was I right? Professor Ashbrook
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swept the bare, dusty tomb chamber with a half contemptuous fling of his arm.
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Phil was silent, but then continued the professor patronizingly. There wasn't any
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digging to do, so there's nothing wasted but our time. Phil bit his
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lip. We knew before we came here that there was nothing here in this
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tomb, he exclaimed, a trifle indignantly. It has already been opened.
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What I want to do is see if we can get some clue to the
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meaning of that riddle about the sting of the box and the juice of the
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jar. Look here, he took from his pocket a paper bearing the English
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translation of the puzzling inscription. This says, buy the tomb of nurt Hall
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not in it. It plainly states that the tomb of Zaw the Scribe is
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near here, somewhere. All we have to do is find it exactly.
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Ashbrook was mildly sarcastic, and how do you intend to go about it?
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Well, first, I'm going to have a good look at every inch of
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this place. Phil strode over to a far corner of the tomb and began
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to tap along the wall with a small geologist hammer. Suddenly he stepped back
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in alarm. What's the matter, snapped the professor. Quickly, Phil smiled
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a bit shamefacedly. Just a loose stone in the floor kind of gave me
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a start. He turned around and resumed his tapping. Ashbrook pursed his lips
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in silence a moment, then exclaimed, there couldn't be a loose stone in
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here. This whole room is carved out of solid rock. Phil's eyebrows lifted.
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He stepped back and rejoined his companion. That may be, he said,
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slowly, but nevertheless, the floor moved under my feet. Right over
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there, he pointed to where his boot tracks showed in the heavy dust.
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The professor darted forward, knelt, and began to dust the stone floor with
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his handkerchief. A moment later, Phil was following his example. Here's a
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straight crack, he announced, Presently, seems to be the edge of a
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block. Yes it is, here's the corner. Soon they had uncovered what
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seemed to be a separate section of stone, roughly four feet long and three
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feet wide. You say it moved. For answer, Phil placed one hand
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on the stone and shoved vigorously downward. With a low grating sound, That
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end of the block sank into the floor, while the other raised itself slightly.
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A stone slab mounted on an axle through the center, analyzed. The
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professor quickly pushed down again and harder. Phil bill complied. When the under
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edge of the end of the block appeared, Ashbrook hooked his strong fingers over
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it, and their combined efforts succeeded in raising it to an almost perpendicular position.
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Phil gave one more tug as it swung perfectly upright. Both men heard
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a metallic click. Wonder if it will stay that way now? It seems
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to be pretty solid. Phil pushed against the stone to see if it would
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roll on its axle. To his surprise, it was firm. He pushed
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harder, but he might as well have tried to move the rocky walls on
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either side, for the revolving slab was now securely locked in its upright position.
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Rugged then stepped back from the opening as a strong current of ar arose,
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icy with the clammy coldness that comes to dead air long imprisoned underground,
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like the breath of a phantom. The young man felt it on his cheek.
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He shuddered at its faint but ghastly odor, an aromatic mustiness that hinted
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of grim visaged mummies peering into the eternal blackness of their underground tombs. He
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involuntarily moved closer to the professor. Queer odor, isn't it, he said?
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Slowly? Makes one think of spooks and open graves and things like that.
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Ashbrook silenced him with an irritated gesture. Rot He exclaimed, brusquely,
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Phil, your imagination is your greatest fault, but it certainly is strange.
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How wet that air is the chamber of the pool, quoted Phil. Try
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as he would, he could not keep a certain hollow ring out of his
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voice. The professor turned and frowned, what's the matter with you? You're
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beginning to get on my nerves. Go outside and get some fresh air.
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If you feel nervous, don't stand around in here and croak like pose raven.
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He consulted his watch. Time for lunch, anyhow, let's both go.
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Phil felt immensely and inexplicably relieved as he stepped out into the bright glare
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of the Egyptian sun, and was immediately ashamed of himself for it. He
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wouldn't let his imagination run wild again, he promised himself. When they re
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entered the tomb a half hour later, his step was almost jaunty. Accompanying
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them were Biba, their native foreman, and another native, carrying small picks,
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shovels, and electric lanterns. The slab still held its perpendicular position and
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seemed as firm as before. Phil turned his flashlights strong beamed down into the
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hole, revealing smooth sides and a level stone floor some seven or eight feet
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below. He lay down and projected the light around the interior of the pit.
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There's a tunnel leading off to the left, he announced. Let me
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see, exclaimed the professor. He lay down by Phil's side and craned his
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neck. It's carved out of the solid rock, so there's no danger of
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a cave in. I wonder how the air is down there. He sat
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up, tore a leaf from his note book, lighted it, and tossed
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it down a few feet back in the tunnel. It burned brightly. It's
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all right, he said. Satisfied as to the safety, Phil leaped down
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into the stone wall pit, holding his flashlight before him. In a moment,
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the Professor and two natives had joined him in single file. They started
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through the tunnel, their elbows brushing the walls. They walked a moment in
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silence. Suddenly Ashbrook halted so abruptly that Phil, in second place, collided
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with him. What is it, he whispered. The Professor moved aside so
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that Phil could look ahead. Immediately before them, the ceiling of the tunnel
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sloped sharply to the floor, barring further progress. The angle where the ceiling
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met the floor was filled with an accumulation of dust, and debris. Phil
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dropped to his hands and knees and poked in the litter. Give me a
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shovel, he said, presently turning to one of the natives. In a
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few minutes, he revealed that the slope of the ceiling was not complete,
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but ceased as abruptly as it had begun, at a point about ten inches
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from the floor, leaving an aperture the full width of the tunnel at the
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bottom. A gust of air, colder and wetter than before, swept past
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them like a ghost escaping from the suppulcher. Phil was busy with his flashlight.
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I think the tunnel continues, he said. After a brief inspection,
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I'll crawl through and see what's on the other side. If there's anything we
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want, we can break down this part of the wall and get it.
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I'm going with you, said the professor. He stopped and surveyed the tenant,
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cracked dubiously, then regarded his rather rotund waist line. I don't think
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I can make it, he added, Let's see, he experimented, then
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stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes. Impossible, he laughed.
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One's enough, though there's no danger, he spoke. The last sentence in
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a slightly louder tone. An instant later, an eerie voice echoed out of
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the blackness behind him. Faintly, it came a single word danger. Both
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natives started, the whites of their eyes plainly visible. Ashbrook coughed, peculiar
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echo, he remarked, evenly. Phil licked his dry lips to him.
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The echo had had an entirely different inflection from that the professor had given it.
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Why hadn't the other words come echoing back too? Then he shook himself,
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dropped flat, and flashlight in hand, crawled slowly into the forbidding hole
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before him. Ashbrook had an uneasy feeling, a premonition, almost as he
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watched the tips of Phil's boots disappear. See anything, he called to dispel
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his nervousness. Not yet. The voice came as if from the bowels of
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the earth. When it ceased, the silence was so intense that to Ashbrook
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the ticking of his watch in his trousers pocket was as loud as the rapid
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rhythmic dropping of coins into a metal bowl close at hand. He was relieved
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when the separchral voice resumed its reporting. It's high enough to stand up,
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I guess wider. There was an instant of scuffling, the smacking, thought
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of a body falling violently upon the unyielding rock, a groan, then silence
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for an instant. Ashbrook was petrified. Then he quickly prostrated himself before the
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opening, cupped his hands and called Phil, Oh, Phil, answer me,
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Are you hurt? He listened intently for a reply. None came.
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He could hear a liquid dripping somewhere beyond in the blackness. Again, he
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called a steady drip. Drip, drip, now quite audible was his only
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answer. He wheeled on. The terrified natives break through that rock, he
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commanded. Although nune with fright, they moved forward to obey, only to
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stop short as a new horror presented itself. Ashbrook followed their wide eyed stare,
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and his lips curled back in revulsion, for there, crawling slowly up
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the wall before them was a huge white spider, a creature occasionally countered in
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very old tombs. The frightful thing was fully as large as the fingers and
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palm of a grown man's hand, with a bloated body and unusually thick legs,
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legs that looked as though possessed of a strength far out of proportion to
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the size of the body, covered as it was with matted white hair,
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stood out against the dark rock like a bleached skull mounted on black velvet.
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It crawled slowly, deliberately, as if gorged to repletion on some hideous meal,
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the probable nature of which caused Ashbrooken involuntary shudder. The two natives were
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absolutely paralyzed with fear. Their eyes bulged in their sockets, and on their
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foreheads a cold sweat stood out in great beads. For not only is the
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Egyptian tomb spider a fearsome and horrible thing to behold, but the legends and
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superstitions which surround it are of such a nature as would cause the most harmless
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and mild appearing creature to be regarded with mortal terror. Ashbrook regained control of
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himself with an effort. He drew his revolver, took careful aim, and
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fired The soft nosed bullets spattered the huge spider into a sticky clock that drooled
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slowly down the rocks. With the roar of the revolver, the natives bolted,
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screaming into the darkness, dropping the tools and lanterns in their mad flight.
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The thin pencil of illumination from the flashlight his only guide, the professor
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hurriedly made his way back along the tunnel. He broke into a run when
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he heard the native's screams double in volume. At the end of the tunnel,
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he found them pointing upward. He took a startled glance, then stepped
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back, aghast. The trap door was closed for an instant. He felt
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a hysterical impulse to scream with them, but the very panic of the others
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stealed his own nerves against giving way. He grasped Biba roughly by the arm
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and shook him brace up. He barked, we've got to get the door
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open. Down on your hands and knees quick. They obeyed his command,
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and in a moment were braced together in a corner of the wall, their
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bare knees padded against the coming pressure. With Ashbrook's jacket still holding his flashlight,
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he stepped lightly upon them, one foot on each of the bare brown
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backs. He settled himself, snapped out his light and pocketed it. Placed
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both hands against the cold stone of the door overhead, took a deep breath
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and pushed for a moment he was assailed by the horrible suspicion that some one
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had placed a heavy weight over the trap door, for it seemed immovable.
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Then, to his great relief, it gave slowly and ponderously, but enough
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to assure him that it was moving on its axle. Inch by inch,
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the great stone slab swung upward. The effort was tremendous, though the atmosphere
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in the tunnel beneath the old tomb was chilly. Hot perspiration streaked down Ashbrook's
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face. The natives winced and cried out softly as the steel hob nails of
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his boots bit into their backs, but they hailed fast. There in the
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utter blackness and silence, the trapped man strained for what seemed ages. His
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arms ached and throbbed, till he feared he would collapse. His whole body
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trim, and the great vein on his sweat bedewed forehead stood out alarmingly.
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At last, a thin ray of faint daylight filtered in from the tomb above.
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With renewed vigor, he pushed till the crack had widened to several inches,
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then summoning every ounce of strength for an instant. He held the great
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rock with one hand, while with the other he reached for the far end.
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His fingers crept around the thick block. He made one last tremendous effort,
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and the slab swung into perpendicular, locking there as it had done before.
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His strength spent, he staggered, gasping against the wall, while the
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natives scrambled up and out with an almost monkey like agility. Biba reached a
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hand down and helped Ashbrook out. Get the electric drill. We've got to
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get fill out of there, he shouted, as soon as he had regained
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his breath. In a few minutes, they were dragging the heavy apparatus to
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the edge of the pit. At first, the natives were loath to climb
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down into the gloomy place again, but when the professor fingered the butt of
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his revolver nervously, they obeyed with alacrity. Under the blaze of ti electric
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lanterns, Ashbrook watched the powerful drill quickly cut through the soft stone wall beyond
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which phil had disappeared. He called from time to time, but received no
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answer. As soon as a large enough hole was made, he squeezed through
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into what appeared to be a large chamber, but he had no time to
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take note of his surroundings, for the first object the light fell upon was
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the huddled form of Phil lying on the floor. He quickly knelt beside him
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and was feeling his pulse, when, to his relief, the young man
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opened his eyes and looked about him dazedly. He saw Ashbrook and tried to
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smile. Something lit on me, he said weakly, Bold me over,
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and I cracked my head on the floor. At that moment, a bright
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illumination dazzled them as Biba, the wall demolished, stepped through carrying an electric
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lantern. The professor helped Phil to his feet. How do you, Phil,
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want to go outside and get some fresh air, he inquired. No,
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I'm all right, just a sore lump on my head, Phil assured
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him. Together they looked about them. The chamber in which they stood was
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fairly large and almost square. A few articles of furniture, a gold encrusted
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chariot, and several large urns of preserved fruit were grouped about in the tomb.
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But the scene that caught their attention and held it was in the center
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of the room. From a hole in the ceiling water dripped slowly into a
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small oval pool, which was apparently quite deep. At either end of the
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pool, an upright mast was sunk into the stone floor, and between the
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masts above the water was suspended a hammock like swing, in which reposed a
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mummy on a low stand. At the brink of the pool were an ornate
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little jar and a small carved box. For the first time in his life,
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Phil saw the professor really excited. Just wait till I get my camera
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in here, he exclaimed. What will the British Museum say to the arrangement
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and position of that mummy? Why? Phil, we found something new,
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absolutely new. But Phil was gazing toward the mouth of the tunnel by which
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they had entered. That's what hit me, he said quietly. Look.
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Ashbrook turned from an axle set high upon the wall above the opening, extended
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a long wooden beam parallel and close to the side of the chamber. On
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the end of the beam was affixed a wicked looking metal blade, set so
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that when the wooden arms swung down, it would sweep quite close to the
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floor, thus decapitating or seriously injuring a person who might be emerging through the
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tenant crack. The electric drill had just enlarged. The beam was discharged by
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pressure against a small wooden trigger set on the floor. I kicked that trigger
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with my foot as I stood up, said Phil. If I crawled one
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foot farther, zouie, he made an unpleasant gesture as it was, he
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continued, It was only the shaft that hit me and knocked me over.
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It's a good thing. I stood up as soon as I found I could,
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even so, I don't think that knife missed me very far. Why
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say, Phil, that thing seems to be cocked ready to go off again.
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How could it reset itself? There's something mighty queer here, I tell
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you. See, if there is any way a person could get out of
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this chamber except through a tunnel, that heavy beam couldn't swing back up in
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place itself. We'd better set it off, though, or one of the
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men might get hurt. He advanced, kicked the trigger with his boot,
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and leaped backward. The murderous weapon swept down with a creak, but instead
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of swinging back up again, as a thing of pendulum construction might naturally be
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expected to do, it remained suspended in the air. On the farthest extremity
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of its arc. There must be a catch of some sort up there,
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said the professor, indicating the hole where the axle disappeared in the wall.
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But that's all the more reason why couldn't swing back in place by itself.
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Some one was in here while you lay unconscious, if there was, said
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Phil uneasily. He's in here yet, you can see for yourself. There's
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nobody here but that mummy over there, and I hardly think he do it,
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supplemented Ashbrook, smilingly. Instinctively, both men turned their gaze toward the
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grim brown profile that was visible over the edge of the ornamented hammock. Suddenly
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Phil gripped Ashbrook's arm. Look, for God's sake, Look the thing's moving.
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The professor took a step forward, and his jaw dropped. Then it
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snapped shut, and he straightened up. He cleared his throat. Bunk,
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your imagination's playing tricks, or else its air currents swinging that hammock. Three
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thousand year old mummies don't move, Phil shuddered. I hope it was my
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imagination, he murmured at that instant Biba, who a few minutes before had
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gone back into the tunnel. Burst in stone. Door closed again. He
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gasped. There was a stunned silence. Then the professor asked the question,
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when did it close just then? About thirty seconds ago. Yes, swung
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down shut. Nothing touched it. For several seconds. Ashbrook was lost in
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thought. Then he exclaimed, Phil, run up underneath the trap door and
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watch. I've got an idea. The young man cast a last wide eyed
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glance at the mummy, then trotted down the tunnel, leaping the pile of
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stones where the barrier had been removed. The professor called to him, all
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set came back the reply. Ashbrook walked over beneath the long wooden arm that
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still hung motionless. He stood on tiptoe, grasped it just above the blade,
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and pulled downward. Anything happening, he shouted the tunnel mouth. No.
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He pulled harder. The beam moved downward a few inches. Say this
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trap door is beginning to open, yelled Phil excitedly from the tunnel. The
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professor released his grip on the arm. It jerked back up into its original
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position. The doors dropped back shut again. Now all right, that's what
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I wanted to find out. Come back in here now, as Phil re
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entered the chamber. Ashbrook smiled and pointed at the beam's axle. This is
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really a simple arrangement, and ingenius too. See that axle, Well,
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that's the same axle that the stone slab is hung on. As we pulled
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open the trap door, we automatically drew the swinging arm up into place and
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set it. When that was set, the trap door was locked open.
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But when you touched the trigger and released the beam, the stone slab fell
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back down and bottled us up in here. We've got the drill down here
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now, so we'll cut the trap door down. Then we can't get caught.
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Let's break up this unpleasant looking business, too, suggested Phil, pointing
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to the knife in the beam. After they shoveled the loose stone out of
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the tunnel, removed the heavy slab from its axle, and took down the
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swinging beam, it was pastime for their evening meal. Ashbrook suggested they reserve
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the examination of their discoveries till the next morning. Phil agreed with him.
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Three better bring the folding table too. Phil called the professor from the door
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of the tomb. I want to examine that mummy before we bring him out.
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He turned to Biba, who stood beside him. Are the batteries and
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lanterns in good shape? The native nodded and followed him down the ladder,
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which they had placed in the pit to facilitate entrance and exit. When Phil
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emerged from the tunnel into the chamber of the pool, Ashbrook was preparing to
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take a flashlight picture. Phil unfolded the long, low portable table he had
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brought with him and set it up. Then he moved over and stood beside
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the professor. That's zaw there, he remarked by way of conversation, pointing
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at the mummy. Ashbrook was busy and did not answer, so Phil wandered
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over closer to the pool. He took from his pocket the translation of the
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inscription that had brought them there. He re read it by the sting of
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the box and the juice of the jar. His glance fell on the stand
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that held the squat jar in the carved box. He looked back at the
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Professor, completely engrossed and putting a slide in his camera. Acting on a
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sudden impulse, Phil quickly picked up both the box and the jar and walked
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out. Ashbrook did not notice his departure when Phil returned from his concealing the
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two objects beneath his cot. He smelled the odor of burnt magnesium powder and
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found the Professor in a highly satisfied humor. Let's take him down now and
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have a close look at him. I may take some more pictures, too,
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for he seems to be clothed differently from any mummy I ever saw before.
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In fact, he's virtually naked. They moved toward the hammock. The
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ropester slipped over, hooks in each of the poles, observed Phil. We
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can unhook them and swing hammock and all over on to the floor. Good
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idea, commented the Professor. The ropes easily unhooked, and for a moment
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the two men held the thing low above the water, standing across the pool
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from each other, preparatory to swinging it ashore. Wow, this fellow weighs
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a ton, groaned Phil, bracing his feet to keep from slipping into the
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water. It's those ornaments on the hammock, explained Ashbrook. He's fastened in
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too. Whoever took care of him fixed a nice safe berth. All right,
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now, heave ho. They swung together at the same instant. The
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dry crumbly old ropes parted, and with a splash, the hammock and mummy
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plunged beneath the dark waters of the pool. The professor stepped back in disgust.
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Phil sat on the dusty floor, regarding the piece of rope in his
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hand. Confound the luck, expostulated Ashbrook. I wonder how deep that water
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is now. He won't be worth a thing if we do get him out.
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He tied a small rock to a six foot piece of cord and sounded
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the pool. The stone sank the full length without touching. We could make
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a grappling iron, suggested Phil. He eyed the surface of the water.
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Look at the bubbles coming up, would you yes? That dried up old
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mummy will soak up water like a sponge. I'd like to get him out,
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said Phil. I'll see if I can rig up some sort of tackle
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right now, all right, And in the meantime I'll look over this stuff,
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Ashbrook indicated the other contents of the tomb, Phil met Biba, standing
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spell bound in the tomb above, watching another great white spider crawl slowly up
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the wall. Phil too was struck with revulsion at the hideous sight the creature
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presented, but being somewhat of an entomologist, he was also intently interested.
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Is it poisonous? He asked. Biba shrugged his shoulders. Then why are
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you so afraid of it? The native turned horror wide eyes upon him in
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an inarticulate reply, did you ever hear of any one's being bitten by one?
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Biba admitted that he never had, but added that a horrible death would
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be sure to follow if one were. Phil smiled, well, I never
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saw a spider like this before, so I think I'll add him to my
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collection. He seems to be a sleepy beggar. Ought to be easy to
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capture. He stepped outside and returned a few minutes later with a glass jar
25:15
and a stick. Holding the jar at arm's lengths beneath the creature, he
25:19
dislodged it with the stick, quickly clapped the lid on, and the huge
25:22
spider was his captive. It lay sprawled helplessly on the bottom of the jar.
25:26
Phil turned to Biba, simple, wasn't it? The native turned and
25:30
walked away, shaking his head. Bad business, Phil heard him mutter as
25:37
he left. Four. A thorough search of the little camp prevealed absolutely nothing,
25:41
with which even the crudest kind of grappling iron could be improvised. At
25:45
noon, the professor came up from the chamber in high glee, bearing a
25:49
bundle of papyrus rolls, which phil knew would occupy him for some time.
25:53
After lunch, the young man decided to go to the military post some ten
25:57
miles distant, to borrow a grap iron, and incidentally, to pay a
26:02
call on Major Knepper, the officer in charge of the post and a friend
26:04
of his. As he slipped into a clean white shirt, his eyes fell
26:08
upon the glass jar and the spider within. He pondered a moment. His
26:12
collection was stored back in Cairo, he told himself, and two he lacked
26:18
the paraphernalia to properly preserve the creature, so why not make Major Knepper a
26:22
present of it. He knew that the Major was a well known collector and
26:26
would be able to inform him as to the name and habits of the thing.
26:29
After a fifteen minutes whirlwind ride, he drew up by the officer's quarters
26:33
at the post. He found the Major at his desk, and when the
26:37
necessary formalities and informalities of greeting an old friend were disposed of. Broached the
26:41
subject of a grappling iron. Knepper despatched an orderly to search through the supply
26:45
house. Say Bill, I've got something out in the machine for you,
26:49
exclaimed Phil, suddenly remembering the spider, He stepped out and got the jar.
26:55
Major Knepper examined the motionless form through the glass. It's what is called
26:59
a tombs spider around here, he informed him. We get a hold of
27:03
one every now and then. Although almost every large collection contains one or two,
27:07
nobody knows very much about them. Somehow or other. No one seems
27:11
to want to make a detailed and careful study of the things. I personally
27:15
have investigated a little and found that they lack the nasty viciousness so remarked in
27:19
most of the other very large species of the spider family. It's queer,
27:22
though, for these spiders have by far the largest venom sacks I have ever
27:26
seen. Just a moment, and I'll show you. You don't mind if
27:30
I spoil this one? Do you? No? Go ahead? Phil replied
27:34
deathly. Knepper removed the huge spider from the jar, killed it, and
27:37
impaled the body on a small dissecting board. A few minutes of skillful work
27:41
with a sharp penknife, and he laid aside two soft, yellowish oval sacs
27:45
the size of ripe cherries. Once prompted by a morbid curiosity, he continued,
27:52
I took some of this venom and analyzed it. I found it to
27:55
be of an entirely different nature from the irritating poison of other spiders. In
27:59
fact, as far as I could ascertain, it wasn't even poisonous. But
28:03
then I'm not much of a chemist, and there are a great many things
28:06
that scientists don't know yet. Rather a trivial matter all the way round,
28:10
too, don't you think? Yes, I suppose that the private life of
28:14
a rare spider doesn't matter a great deal one way or another, agreed Phil
28:18
with a smile. Have you noticed, though, that the mere sight of
28:21
one will incapacitate for work any native in Egypt. They'll step over a deadly
28:26
snake and never give it a second thought. But let one of these sluggish,
28:30
helpless old spiders appear on the scene and they're paralyzed. Yes, it
28:33
seemed to be one of their pet superstitions, laughed Phil. There's no figuring
28:38
out in native's way. Of thinking, sighed the major. The orderly returned,
28:42
carrying a small grappling iron on a twenty five foot chain. Phil thanked
28:47
Knapper and said good bye. He drove slowly on the return trip to camp
28:51
and did a great deal of thinking. Remembering the box and jar concealed beneath
28:56
the cart and his tent, he determined to investigate as soon as he arrived,
28:59
but mostly he thought about large white spiders. Finding Professor Ashbroke engrossed and
29:04
oblivious among his papyreous rolls, Phil went to his tent, placed the box
29:08
in the jar on his desk, and started his investigation. He selected the
29:12
jar. It opened easily. He found it to be nearly filled with a
29:15
thick, clear, odorless liquid which covered several leafy twigs. Phil lifted one
29:21
out by means of forceps. The leaves and stems were perfectly preserved, and
29:25
after consulting a naturalist handbook, he recognized it as a rather uncommon, though
29:30
not rare shrub which could be found in that locality. Rather disappointed by the
29:34
commonplace nature of his find, nevertheless, he resolved to obtain a growing specimen
29:40
of that shrub. On the morrow he turned his attention to the box.
29:42
Finding no lock or clasp, he surmised from the elaborate carvings on the front
29:47
that the lid must be operated by a hidden spring. Painstakingly he set about
29:52
to find it. As he worked about the box, he noticed an unpleasant
29:56
odor. But when his fingers suddenly stumbled upon the spring and the lid flew
29:59
open, he sprang up and covered his nose with his handkerchief, for there,
30:03
coated with a jelly like preservative, lay fully a dozen huge white tomb
30:08
spiders. Five May I have that mummy, professor asked Phil, pointing to
30:15
the dripping form of Zah the Scribe, which they had just recovered from the
30:18
pool and removed from his hammock. You may have it, as far as
30:22
I'm concerned, replied Ashbrook. It's spoiled for exhibition purposes. What on earth
30:27
do you want it for? Phil, Oh, have a little theory I'd
30:32
like to try out, that's all. It's all right with me, consented
30:36
the professor. I'm going to finish translating those papyrus rolls. They give some
30:40
new facts on old Egyptian law that are mighty interesting. He hurried out through
30:45
the tunnel to the latter, which led to the outside world, leaving Phil
30:48
alone in the chamber of the pool. Throwing several rough towels about the mummy,
30:53
he quickly lifted it on to the examination table under the direct blaze of
30:57
the electric lights. Holding the towels, he intently scrutinized the inert figure.
31:03
Zah the scribe had been a well formed man of medium stature. His skin
31:07
was dark, his hair close cropped and jet black, hands small, with
31:11
exceptionally long fingers. Phil could see at once that this man had not been
31:17
subjected to the usual mummification processes. The body was intact and free from the
31:22
long, closely wound linen wrappings characteristic of all other mummies. He wore but
31:26
a single light garment and sandals, with an armlet of hammered silver above his
31:30
elbow, a costume such as any ancient Egyptian might have worn about his private
31:36
estate. The young man thought. He lifted an arm toward him. It
31:40
moved stiffly in its socket. As he turned it over palm up, the
31:42
elbow cracked sharply. The limb was but slightly shrunken, the flesh firm and
31:48
cold. He held the heavy upper arm in his hand and gripped it with
31:52
a little more elasticity and quite a bit more warmth. It could easily have
31:56
been that of a sleeping man. Phil flexed the arm slowly. The bicep's
32:00
muscle rolled evenly under the smooth brown skin. Suddenly Phil began to wonder how
32:06
this man had met his death. In an effort to discover some wound or
32:09
sign of disease, he removed the clothing and examined the body minutely. Numerous
32:15
scars attested that Za had been a fearless warrior in his day, but they
32:19
were all old and completely healed. Poisons were in vogue then, and the
32:23
keeper of a treasure would be a likely victim. The features of the mummy
32:27
attracted the young man's attention, the closed eyes, the straight bridged nose,
32:31
the set lips, and the slightly sunken cheeks. He stood close by and
32:36
regarded them for some time. Then he narrowed his eyes, cupped his chin
32:39
in his hand, and leaned over, peering searchingly into the dark countenance,
32:44
as if trying to find the answer to the mummy secret. Tentatively, he
32:47
reached out a forefinger and pushed back an eyelid. He looked beneath and compressed
32:53
his lips, as if afraid to make an exclamation. Then again he stared
32:58
fixedly at the face before him for quite a long time. When he left
33:01
the chamber of the pool, a strange light was burning in his eyes.
33:07
Six Phil arose early after a sleepless night. Bolting a hasty breakfast, he
33:14
tramped around over the surrounding country till about noon. On his return he bore
33:19
three small bushes which he had dug up by the roots. Two of these
33:22
he carefully transplanted behind his tent, reserving the third for immediate employment. Seated
33:28
at his portable desk, he held a powerful magnifying glass over a limb of
33:31
the shrub and painstakingly compared it with a portion of the preserved twig he had
33:36
discovered in the jar from the chamber of the pool. Convinced at last that
33:40
they were one and the same plant, he went into Ashbrook's tent, and,
33:45
not finding the professor there, helped himself to one of a set of
33:47
nature books. Settling himself on a campstool, he thumbed through the section dealing
33:52
with shrubs and bushes till he came to an account of the mona bush.
33:57
There was only a single terse paragraph, but to fill one sentence stood out
34:00
sharply from among the rest. This herb was believed by the ancient Egyptians to
34:06
have magical properties, and the juice of the leaves was much used by them
34:09
in the preparation of their medicines. Replacing the book on the shelf, he
34:14
went down the ladder into the cool underground vault where lay Zaw the scribe.
34:20
The body was completely covered with a heavy canvas, which Phil had purposely drenched
34:23
with water. He removed the covering and wiped the trickling drops from the quiet
34:29
brown face. The band of silver now fitted its owner's arm as snugly as
34:34
it had done in life. Phil observed he was satisfied that the body had
34:37
absorbed enough water to counteract the drying effect of the preservative, if indeed a
34:43
preservative had been used. Phil grew feverishly excited. He flexed the arms several
34:49
times, noticing that the joints were not so stiff as before, and that
34:53
the flesh was softer and more elastic. Then he studied the translation on the
34:58
slip of paper by the juice of the jar. The jar had contained sprigs
35:04
of the mona bush. That must mean that the juice of the leaves was
35:08
in some way connected with the riddle. The juice of the leaves of the
35:12
mona bush had been used by the ancient Egyptians and their medicines. Phil plucked
35:17
one of the thick oval leaves from the twig he had brought with him and
35:21
crushed it beneath his thumb on the table beside the mummy. Instantly, a
35:24
strong, pungent, vegetable odor, utterly unlike anything he had ever smelled before,
35:29
assailed his nostrils. It crept like the scent of incense through the damp,
35:34
still air of the underground tomb, an odor both pleasant and unpleasant.
35:38
Puzzled and fighting against the fantastic ideas and whisperings that flitted through his mind,
35:44
Phil walked aimlessly about the tomb chamber for a few minutes, pausing to study
35:49
a crude sketch on the wall, or to gaze wide eyed into the black
35:52
depths of the pool from which the mummy had been retrieved. Still finding no
35:57
solution to his problem, Phil turned back to the low table and zaw the
36:00
scribe. Suddenly, he gave an exclamation of disgust, for upon the table,
36:06
apparently materialized out of the thin air were two gigantic tomb spiders. The
36:12
young man took a quick step forward in an effort to prevent the hideous things
36:15
from molesting the body, but checked himself when he saw that that did not
36:19
seem to be their object. Rather, they seemed eagerly searching for something which
36:23
they could not see. Standing by the side of the table, phil watched
36:27
the two things scurry back and forth with more display of energy than he had
36:30
believed them capable of. Interested, he leaned forward and noted their every move.
36:37
Almost frantically. The two great white spiders wove about, often brushing the
36:40
side of the mummy in their erratic course. Suddenly, the larger of the
36:45
two ranged within an inch or so of the crushed leaf of the mona bush.
36:49
As if frozen in its tracks, It stopped for an instant, then
36:52
flexed its thick, hairy legs and pounced upon the sticky green clot of juice
36:55
and pulp. A moment later, the other spider had done the same.
37:00
Their bloated bodies relaxed, and they lay quietly, seemingly finding satisfaction, and
37:05
the strong peculiar odor, his face a study and conflicting disgust, puzzlement,
37:10
and interest. Phil watched intently. But when he saw one of the unlovely
37:15
pair endeavor to sink his fings into the wooden table, and failing to do
37:20
so, exuded an unbelievable quantity of his thick yellow venom, disgust came to
37:24
the fore, and with a shuddered oath, the young man swept the two
37:28
loathsome creatures to the floor and ground them into the dust under his heavy boot
37:31
heel. Feeling somewhat better, he glanced again at the crushed leaf queer.
37:37
He told himself how a mere odor could excite those sluggish spiders into such a
37:42
frenzy. Then, like the flash of a lightning bolt, the idea came
37:46
to him, the juice of the jar in the same metaphor, the sting
37:52
of the box would be the bite of a tomb spider. For had not
37:57
the little carved box been packed with preserved spiders and the age old legends surrounding
38:01
them, and what Major Knepper had told him about their having the largest venom
38:07
sex seemingly not poisonous, very little known. Why, perhaps Phil dashed out
38:15
of the chamber, through the tunnel, and up the ladder into the tomb
38:17
above. He collided with Professor Ashbrook in the doorway. Grasping him by the
38:22
arm, the younger man led him back down into the chamber of the pool,
38:27
talking rapidly, all the while with passionate earnestness. His eyes burned feverishly
38:30
and his face quivered. At first, the Professor's weather beaten countenance showed surprise
38:36
and a mild annoyance at Phil's outburst. As he assimilated some of the rapid
38:40
flow of talk, his expression changed to one of incredulous astonishment, then to
38:45
anxiety for his companion's sanity, till finally he made the young man cease and
38:50
began to question him. Phil repeated what he had said. Professor Ashbrook's fingers
38:55
worked nervously. He compressed his lips till they were almost bloodless, and a
39:00
faint glimmer of the queer light that shone so brightly from Phil's eyes began to
39:04
appear in his. An hour later, both men were standing beside the still
39:07
form which lay on the table in the chamber of the pool. They conversed
39:10
in low, vibrant tones, casting frequent glances at their silent companion, Za
39:15
the Scribe. The Professor spoke excitedly of rare forms of catalepsy, of the
39:21
lost art of Egyptian medicine, and also of the jewels of ah mah Kha
39:28
seven. The batteries in the electric lanterns were exhausted, and there were no
39:32
others in camp. Thus it was that, in the center of a ring
39:37
of flickering yellow candle flames, a weird and unearthly scene took place in the
39:42
dark dampness of a tomb. Beneath the tomb, in the chamber of the
39:45
pool, the strange, unforgettable odor of the crushed leaves of the mona bush
39:50
hung stiflingly heavy in the chill, motionless air. On the low table lay
39:54
the body of Za the Scribe, their faces tense, phil and Professor Ashbrook
40:00
stood over him. The older man was applying a thick green liquid to the
40:05
mummy. It was the juice of a great many leaves of the mona bush.
40:08
Some he rubbed on the legs and thighs, then a circular spot on
40:13
the stomach, a little over the heart, liberal applications on the arms and
40:16
shoulders, while the remainder he used on the back of the neck. This
40:21
done, both men donned heavy rubber gloves. Phil lifted a tin box from
40:24
the floor, a box with air holes pierced through the lid. He opened
40:30
it and spilled its contents fully upon the bare chest of the mummy, then
40:32
stepped back quickly and averted his face. Tomb spiders had not been hard to
40:37
obtain by using the odor of crushed monabush leaves as a lure. The Professor,
40:43
too, was standing with his back to the weird and horrible scene.
40:46
He spoke, without turning, how many preserved spiders was it that you found
40:52
in the little carved box? Fourteen? Unconsciously, both men spoke in subdued
40:58
tones. And you are using fourteen? Now? Yes, what if they're
41:02
not enough? I've got three more in this jar to use as a last
41:07
resort. How long do you suppose it will take? I haven't the slightest
41:12
idea. For some time there was absolute silence in the twilight of the tomb
41:17
and the tall corners. The shadows quivered like great black beasts held on leash.
41:22
Oh but a thing like this couldn't be, Ashbrook burst out. It's
41:28
impossible horrible. We've gone too far. Now. All that's left to do
41:31
is follow through the procedure and see whether our wild hopes and fancies are true.
41:37
Presently, Phil steeled his nerves and turned slowly round. Squatting in clusters
41:43
over the body were the spiders motionless, their fangs sunk deep as they pumped
41:47
their mysterious tocsin into the dead veins of the mummy. It was with difficulty
41:52
that he restrained himself from turning and fleeing at once from the blood curdling in
41:57
eerie sight. As rapidly as poss he plucked the tenacious things from the body
42:01
and replaced them in the tin box. His hands protected by the rubber gloves,
42:07
Ashbrook applied a stethoscope to the bare brown chest. He listened breathlessly for
42:10
a few seconds, then sighed and shook his head. Phil began to chafe
42:15
one of the cold wrists. We'll allow an hour for the stuff to do
42:19
its work. If nothing happens, then we'll use the other three spiders.
42:22
After that we'll give up the whole wild business. Bury this body and try
42:27
to forget that we were so foolish, so heathenly superstitious. I might better
42:31
say, three quarters of the hour had elapsed before the deathlike hush was again
42:36
broken. The towering, monstrous shadows and the far recesses of the tomb became
42:40
more restless. As the candles burned low and lower. The white, strained
42:45
faces of the two men stood out sharply in the semi darkness, their bodies
42:50
indistinct and shapeless. The professor felt for a pulse in one of the thin
42:53
muscular wrists, then shook his head again. Get those other three spiders out,
42:59
Phil, he said, I think we're going to need them. Let's
43:02
wait a few minutes, more, replied the other. He too, picked
43:06
up a wrist and held it, standing very quietly, his finger tips resting
43:10
lightly on the pulse. Phil strained every ounce of his powers of perception.
43:15
Suddenly, he gasped, Surely it couldn't be that, No, it must
43:20
have been his imagination. But there it came again. Then he uttered an
43:24
exclamation that caused Ashbrook to start for beyond the shadow of a doubt, he
43:29
had detected a faint pulse and the cold wrist of the three thousand year old
43:34
mummy. In a few quick words, Phil informed the professor, who immediately
43:38
seized the stethoscope and pressed it to the chest once more. He passed the
43:43
instrument to Phil. The young man listened for a moment before he could hear,
43:46
coming as if from a great distance, the slow, faint but unmistakable
43:51
sound of heartbeats. What about the temperature? He breathed in an awed whisper.
43:57
Ashbrook snatched a thermometer from the arm pit of the reclining figure and looked
44:00
at it dubiously, only gone up two degrees. He announced, hadn't we
44:07
better try a stimulant? It isn't called for, but it couldn't do any
44:10
harm, and it might hasten matter as a great deal. Phil nodded his
44:15
acquiescence. The professor poured a liberal portion of brandy down the throat of the
44:19
slowly reviving man before them. Afterward, neither Phil nor Professor Ashbrook could hazard
44:24
a guess as to how long they kept vigil over the body of zaw the
44:28
scribe. Phil remembered lighting new candles twice. Neither slept slowly, very slowly,
44:36
The thermometer climbed, and the heartbeats increased in strength and volume. At
44:40
the end of the fifth hour, respiration was noticeable. Once the lips twitched,
44:46
just as the exhausted watchers were about to give way to the growing weariness
44:50
that excitement can not always dispel. The eyelids were slowly raised for a moment,
44:55
then drooped. Soon, the heavy breathing of the man was quite audible,
45:00
and the limbs rolled limply. He's asleep, whispered the professor, Snatching
45:07
short naps by relays, Phil and Ashbrook passed the next twelve hours. At
45:12
the end of that time, both the pulse and the temperature were almost normal.
45:15
Phil absent into himself for some time and returned with a pot of steamed
45:20
coffee. The professor had just finished his second cup when he glanced down at
45:24
Za. Look, he exclaimed. Phil followed his pointing finger and saw with
45:30
astonishment that Za was staring at the ceiling with wide open eyes, motionless as
45:36
statues. They watched him slowly turn his gaze to one side till he seemed
45:39
to be regarding a spot on Phil's shirt front. The young man felt a
45:44
disturbing, little cold shiver scamper up his spine as the unwinking stare rose inch
45:49
by inch. Before he knew it, he was looking straight into the deep
45:53
black eyes of a man who had supposedly died three thousand years before. The
46:00
eyes were misty and unfocussed, like those of a very young baby. Spellbound,
46:06
Phil watched them shift and squint till they regarded him squarely. For a
46:09
moment, they gazed into each other's eyes. Then a few faint lines wrinkled
46:14
Zo's forehead. In the same slow, deliberate manner. He blinked his eyes
46:19
a few times, then changed his position very slightly. The effort seemed to
46:22
cause him pain, for he frowned quite noticeably. Presently, he began to
46:27
open and close his mouth uneasily, and to lick his dry lips with a
46:30
still drier tongue. Ashbrook hastily supplied half a glass of cool water. Za
46:36
swallowed several times and turned his head to stare with increased interest at his benefactor.
46:42
Gradually his animation increased, till at the end of perhaps two hours,
46:45
he essayed to raise himself to a sitting position. He fell back weakly,
46:51
but with the aid of the other two, was soon swinging his legs slowly
46:54
to and fro As he sat on the edge of the table. Phil and
46:58
the professor hovered about him. Excitedly, hardly daring to believe their own eyes,
47:02
and half fearing that he might fall back any moment into a lifeless mummy.
47:07
Once more, by degrees, his eyes brightened, his facial expressions increased,
47:12
and his whole demeanor livened. He pointed at the pitcher of water and
47:15
was able to hold the cup with which Phil supplied him, and to drink
47:20
from it copiously. Soon he evinced a desire to walk Phil, and the
47:24
Professor supporting and assisting him. He hobbled stiffly a few paces, then halted
47:30
and looked about a queer dull. Glow came into his black eyes as he
47:34
recognized his surroundings. By turns, he inspected the pool, the empty chests,
47:38
and the mouth of the tunnel. When he saw his empty, gold
47:43
weighted hammock lying on the floor, he made several unsuccessful efforts to speak.
47:47
Finally, he uttered a few words in a guttural tongue. The Professor shook
47:52
his head and made gestures to show that he did not understand. Try writing
47:55
in hieroglyphics, suggested Phil. Ashbury took his pencil and painstakingly constructed on a
48:01
leaf from his note book a simple sentence to the effect that they did not
48:06
understand his language, and inquiring if he desired anything to eat. He handed
48:10
the paper and pencil to Za. The Egyptian scrutinized it a few moments,
48:15
examined the pencil curiously, then, grasping it in his fist like a dagger,
48:19
with a few incredibly dexterous motions, set down a reply in well formed
48:22
characters. The professor translated carefully to Phil. He says that it is difficult
48:29
for him to speak, and that he is not hungry. Phil was seized
48:32
by a sudden inspiration, ask him where the jewels of ahmah Khah are?
48:37
This resurrection may not last but a few hours. Ashbrook nodded rapidly and narrowed
48:43
his eyes. I had better work up to it, gradually, he whispered
48:47
from the corner of his mouth. He made several trifling inquiries about the architecture
48:52
of the tomb, to which Za replied briefly. Impatience getting the best of
48:57
him, the professor put the question direct, where are the jewels of ah
49:01
mah Kah? The brown skinned man looked at the paper fully a minute before
49:06
he raised his head. Phil was startled at the uncanny red light which appeared
49:10
to glow from his eyes. He regarded Ashbrook till the latter grew uneasy.
49:15
Then the disturbing glow was suddenly extinguished, and to the amazement of the two
49:20
white men, he pointed at the black, glassy surface of the pool.
49:23
Za made his way unassisted to the edge, knelt and extended his arm to
49:28
the elbow in the water. After a few minutes of groping, he brought
49:31
up a loop of heavy hand wrought chain. Stretching it tight, he pulled.
49:37
As Phil and the Professor stepped quickly to his side, he made an
49:39
upward gesture. He means for us to pull up on the chain, exclaimed
49:45
Phil. Under their combined efforts they lifted a heavy object a few inches and
49:50
felt it great to one side. The two white men, believing it to
49:52
be an urn or chest containing the precious stones, endeavored to bring it to
49:57
the surface. Za checked them and pointed again at the surface of the pool.
50:01
The level of the water was rapidly lowering. We must have lifted a
50:06
plug out of the bottom, cried Ashbrook excitedly. When grappling for the body
50:10
of Zaw they had found the pool to be more than nine feet in depth,
50:15
So it was some time later when they watched the last of the water
50:17
gurgle out through a rectangular hole in one corner. By the side of the
50:22
drain was a corresponding stone block, to the top of which the chain was
50:25
attached, leading to a heavy staple set in the stone a few inches below
50:30
over the surface of the water had been. But the object that attracted their
50:34
wide eyed attention was a small chest in the exact center of the pit,
50:37
its priceless magnificence gleaming softly through the silt and slime which partly covered it.
50:43
Heedless of the expression on Za's face, Phil seized a candle, lowered himself
50:47
over the edge, and dropped lightly down beside the chest. As Ashbrook brushed
50:52
by the motionless Egyptian, he unconsciously noted that the odor of the Mona bush
50:55
was still strong upon him. A moment later, Phil and the professor were
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bending over the open chest and tearing away the rotted leather case within. Suddenly
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a scintillating blaze of multicolored light burst out from within. As the candle light
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fell upon a great mass of wondrous gems, glistening with water and reflecting a
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rainbow like radiance into the faces of the two men, who leaned close drinking
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in the beauty. A sound from above caused them to look up instantly.
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Their surprise and delight were replaced by sudden terror, for upon the edge of
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the pit, his eyes blazing, a maniacal red stood zaw the scribe.
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He held aloft a heavy carved stand and slowly gathered himself to send it crashing
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down upon them. Seeing that he was observed, he paused, his dry,
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blackened lips writhed back from his yellow teeth in a fiendish mockery of a
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smile, and the low cackle of a madman grated from between his set jaws.
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Looking above and beyond them, Phil was conscious of something else, a
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huge, white, hairy something that twinkled across the ceiling and halted above the
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maniac as Zo drew himself to his full height and tightened his grip on his
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brutal weapon. The white hand like thing upon the ceiling dropped a lighting tenacious
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as a burr on the back of the brown man's neck. Za shrieked and
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dropped the stand to one side. He fell to his knees, clutching at
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the horror on his back, Phil hastily tucked the little casket of jewels under
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his arm and scrambled up out of the pit after the professor. There,
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both men stopped, aghast at the horrible sight on the tomb floor before them,
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A mighty tomb spider, a giant of its kind, was clamped in
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a deathlike grip to the spot on Zo's neck that reeked of the odor of
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crushed leaves from the mona bush. The huge thing's thick, hairy legs twisted
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and knotted themselves convulsively as its greedy fang sank deep. The brown man writhed
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in agony, his glazing eyes rolling wildly in their sockets. One arm shot
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out and grasped fill by the ankle, dragging him toward the edge of the
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empty pool. The young man screamed in mortal terror and kicked himself free.
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His glance swept down into the pit, and, as if touched by a
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high voltage wire, his whole body suddenly stiffened. The color drained swiftly from
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his face, leaving in a ghastly gray. The case of jewels slipped unheeded
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from his fear paralyzed arms and crashed to the floor, sending the glittering baubles
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rolling in the dust. Trooping up out of the foul, subterranean darkness of
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the great square drainage hole at the bottom of the pit came countless thousands of
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great white spiders and an undulating tide of furry evilness. They crept up from
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the lower chamber that had been their prison, and from which the water had
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just driven them. The professor too saw the advancing horde of horror, and
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the two men's eyes met in unutterable terror. A low moan from the dying
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Zaw broke the spell. Snatching up a huge handful of the wondrous stones,
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phill led the dam for the doorway, where for a moment he paused and
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looked back as Zah his spinal cords severed, sank at last into the eternal
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rest, which should have been his three thousand years before. He rolled,
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limping over on his back, crushing under him the bloated form of the immense
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spider with a noise like the bursting of a great oily bubble. The creature's
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thin skin split and it spattered out into a formless blot. The blood from
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the lacerated neck swelled into the sticky puddle that had been a tomb spider and
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trickled out to meet the oncoming wave of glittering eyes and writhing legs that was
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flowing soundlessly over the edge of the pit. End of section six Spider bite
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by Robert ESQ. Carr